


Look to the Distance

by ChronoXtreme



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dreams, Dreamsharing (implied), F/M, Heavily inspired by Final Fantasy XV, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Isolation, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Loneliness, This game gives me such feels, Zelda too, help these children, silent princess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 00:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16608785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronoXtreme/pseuds/ChronoXtreme
Summary: "Know that I am there, and that I watch over you always."While he sleeps, he dreams. When he awakens, he fights.But he is never alone.





	Look to the Distance

_Goddess, I’m so tired…_

His whole body ached, like he had worked himself too hard in his sparring against the Royal Guard again. Yet his heart burned, his chest too tight. The scent of flowers drifted into his nose, offering him a temporary distraction from the pain.

Why did it hurt so much?

“Link.”

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it broke him out of his reverie, and his eyes opened to see a blur of blue and green. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing at his head — why was it throbbing so much? — then froze.

In the middle of a flower filled meadow, hands clasped in her lap, stood Princess Zelda.

Her traveling clothes looked exactly the same as how he remembered them: a blue tunic over fitted leggings, Sheikah Slate at her hip. A soft smile curved up her lips as she strode towards him, brown boots carefully parting the long grass. “Princess,” he murmured, struggling to move to a kneeling position.

“That’s quite unnecessary, Sir Knight,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes as she regarded him. “Rise.”

He did, grimacing at the pull of his chest muscles as he straightened up.

“So,” she said softly. “You found your way here.”

 _Here?_ He glanced around at the field of flowers, trying to recognize it. Had he fallen asleep on one of their expeditions to the sacred springs? Were they in some hidden nook of Hyrule Castle, one that he’d never seen before? The place was foreign, yet… familiar. Comforting.

“And you found me,” he replied quietly. “What is this place?”

Her head bowed as she strolled away from him, seemingly unanswering his question. “A chance to see you once more,” she murmured, her steps slow, languid. “Who would have thought?”

He frowned. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I see you?” As her appointed knight, he saw her every single day. Unless something had changed? He racked his brain, trying to remember if something had happened.

“Because my prayers have been answered, Link,” Zelda answered, turning to face him. “I’ll soon fulfill my calling.” She still smiled, but it was a mournful look, the wistful gaze she gave when she glanced out the window of her study to the wilds of Hyrule.

He froze. _Her prayers…_ Did this mean that she’d awakened her sealing powers? His stomach twisted. Surely he should be offering her some sort of congratulations, but all he could think of was the fact that he was useless to her now. “But… that doesn’t have to come between us,” he said weakly, trying to think of some argument he could give her. He could remain by her side somehow. He could still be helpful to her. A companion, if not a bodyguard. A friend, if not a protector.

All she’d ever wanted was to awaken the power slumbering within her, but that awakening was bittersweet to him.

Zelda approached him, her hands still gripping each other tightly. “I’m afraid, Link… That we will be parted. For a time.” Her eyes met his, and he stiffened at how solemn they were. “You are the light now, Link. The light that will cleanse Hyrule and let her shine once again.”

He? The light? _I don’t understand._

“Do you remember the Silent Princesses we saw in Hyrule Field?” she asked, turning from him to look at the flowers. “It seems so long ago…” Her hands ran through the grass as she walked, blue petals shimmering in the pale light around them. “You’ll find that they await you still, blooming from hill to vale.”

“Will you be there?” he asked.

Her figure stopped, her head bowed. His chest ached as her shoulders trembled, as if she were about to cry. Quickly, he reached out a hand for her, then grunted as a strong gust of wind blew around them, the grass and flowers waving in the gale. And Zelda changed.

With teardrops of light, her traveling clothes faded, leaving a mudstained, torn white dress. Dirt smudged her skin, with red streaks uncomfortably reminding him of blood. And as she turned, he saw tears fall down her cheeks, cutting tracks through the grime on her face. “No,” she whispered, “I won’t. I wish…” Her eyes squeezed shut. “I wish that I could join you, Link, but this moment… This will have to be enough.”

And as he looked at her, he remembered.

_“Link, save yourself! Go!”_

_His chest burned, blood streaming down his skin as he struggled for breath. The only thing keeping him upright was the Master Sword, but his grip was failing. His eyesight was failing, black patches spreading across his vision as the guardians drew closer. All he could hear was the hammering of his heart in his ears. No voice from the Master Sword. No guidance._

_He was failing her._

_“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me!” Zelda cried out, her hands on his shoulders. Why was she still here? He’d told her to run, hide in the trees, make for Fort Hateno. Why was she still with him, in danger? “Run!”_

_Gasping in an aching breath, he forced himself to rise, shoving her back behind him. No Guardian would touch her. Not while he was still alive. As long as he drew breath, Princess Zelda would survive._

_Through the flames, a red beam pointed at his chest, and he gritted his teeth. He would not survive this shot, and the thought that his princess would see him fall tore at him more than the wounds piercing him. She’d lost everything, and he didn’t want to burden her with the sight of his mangled corpse._

_But she would survive. She_ must _survive._

_“NO!”_

_To his horror, Zelda skirted round him, hair flying wildly in the wind as she held up her hand. As if that alone would stop the beam of destruction from cutting through her. He cried out, trying to push her out of the way, shove her to safety, do_ something _. But he could only sink to his knees, and hot tears leaked from him as he looked up._ Goddess please, just let me save her, that’s all I—

_Zelda’s hand flashed golden, the world was bathed in white light, and he could see no more._

_When the light faded, the world grew dark, and he knew that it was over. The pain was still there, cutting through his ribs and heart, setting his skin on fire, but it was time. He fell back, rain washing his body as he gasped in a few more breaths._ Zelda…

_“No!” His heart pounded at the sound of her voice. She still lived. As he forced his eyes open, he saw the Guardians still around them, now just empty shells. Flames still burned, but no more red beams, no more flashes of death. She…_

_She had activated her sealing powers._

_“Get up, Link!” she cried, her voice broken as she grasped him, holding him in her arms. Her grip was trembling, her eyes shimmering in the light of the fires. A violent cough made him spasm, shaking as he looked at her. “Y-You’re… you’re going to be just fine,” she whispered, even as tears cut down her cheeks._

_They both knew she was lying._

_The pain in her eyes was unbearable, worse than the strike of a thousand Guardians. He couldn’t die without doing something to ease it. With everything he had, he forced his lips to part, and he smiled. “I knew… y-you c-could… do it.” His voice was so weak, and he feared that she wouldn’t hear him, that his last words would go unknown to his princess._

_The last thing he heard was her gasping, and then the world faded._

He trembled, feeling at his chest, at the blood that should be there. But no, he remembered more — whispers on the wind as he’d lain there in the rain, waiting to die. A shrine, sleep, healing, Zelda…

_I failed her._

“It’s not right,” he whispered, looking at her. His frame shook as he saw the weariness in her eyes, the dark shadows that looked like bruises. The way her body hunched over, as if carrying a heavy load. He was asleep, he knew that now, and while his body was asleep, Zelda was fighting against the Calamity all on her own. It was the only thing she could have done: she had never once tried to run away from her destiny.

_Goddess, it’s all my fault. It’s not right for her to bear this burden._

“All I…” His voice choked as tears fell from his eyes. “All I ever wanted… was to save you.”

She stared at him mournfully, a small smile on her lips. Then, slowly, she bent down and plucked a flower from the grass. A Silent Princess. “When the world falls down around you and hope is lost; when you find yourself alone, amid a lightless place…” He froze as the edges of the meadow began to fade, the light draining away around them. “Look to the distance. Know that I am there, and that I watch over you always.” Her hands pressed the flower into his, curling his fingers around the stem.

Suddenly, it felt like he was swimming in water, his feet lifting from the ground as he was pulled away from her. “No!” he screamed as everything grew horribly, terribly dark around them, his hands reaching towards her, trying to hold onto his princess. _I can’t lose you!_

“Farewell, Link,” she whispered, the edges of her form beginning to fade into the dark.

“No! I can’t— I can’t—” He gasped as he tried to swim towards her, to grasp her hand, but he was drifting away too fast, her form dissipating too quickly. “Please! I can’t—”

_I don’t want to forget!_

The last thing he saw of her was her smile, and then she was no more, the world black and swallowing him whole.

 

 

 

_Op… our eyes…_

_Open your eyes…_

_Wake up, Link._

 

* * *

 

Rain fell around him as he walked through the grass. His breath misted as he held up the Sheikah Slate, looking at the pictures contained inside it. _It should be around here somewhere…_ He was northwest of Hyrule Castle, and as he glanced around, he spotted its spires, even through the thick rain.

Shivers ran down his spine as he gazed at it, not from the cold.

Shaking his head, he returned to the task at hand. If he was right, one of the memories that Zelda had captured with the device was in this spot. Wrapping his cloak tightly, he stared down at the grass as he walked, making his way to the large tree on the hill.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, a strange light blooming around him, and it was like he was seeing double: a world where he was standing in rain, holding a Sheikah Slate, and a world where the sun was shining, a gentle breeze blowing through his hair.

_“There’s one! Look, and another!”_

He let the sights and sounds overtake him, and he watched as Zelda talked about the flora and fauna, her tones growing pensive as she showed the Silent Princess to him. The memory ended with a jerk as his body tried to avoid the hot-footed frog she proffered him, and all too quickly he was standing back on Irch Plain underneath the large tree, in the dark instead of the light.

The sunny light of that calm day was so different to the rain pouring around him, and he felt hollow as he knelt in the grass. She’d smiled at him, her eyes so full of energy and life. His princess, now sealed in Hyrule Castle. The memory was further proof that he had been with her constantly, always at her side.

And now, he was alone. They both were.

His shoulders trembled, from the cold or the sheer ache in his chest, he couldn’t tell. How could he do this? His hands curled into fists against the fabric of his trousers. One hundred years ago, he had been united with the four champions and Princess Zelda, and it still hadn’t been enough to stop the Calamity. How could he do the task of five alone?

It was hopeless.

He squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head. The fate of Hyrule rested on his shoulders, and here he was kneeling in the rain, complaining about his duty? Pitiful.

Yet in all the memories he’d seen, he’d never been alone before. There was always someone there, most often Zelda. Solitude had been his companion ever since he’d awoken in the Shrine of Resurrection, but now the sheer aching _loneliness_ struck him in the gut. He gritted his teeth, trying to push back the pain by thinking of the memory he’d just recalled, but the light shining in Zelda’s hair and the eager spark in her eyes only reminded him that he was alone on this hill under this tree. He was alone because he’d failed his princess.

Wearily, he took in a deep breath, then forced his eyes open, shaking his limbs to force the cold out of them. Sitting here and wallowing in hopelessness would do him no good. He needed to move on.

Something caught his eye, shining in the rain, and he blinked as he leaned forward. There, almost drowned out by the long blades of grass, lay a beautiful flower, blue petals rimmed in white. Silent Princess. Despite his melancholy, a smile quirked up his lips as he reached for the flower, stroking a petal.

Then, he gasped as he stood in a different place — another field, filled with hundreds of Silent Princesses, the wind whirling around him. Before him stood Princess Zelda, dressed in white, large eyes solemn even as she smiled benevolently at him. _When the world falls down around you and hope is lost..._

_Look to the distance._

Suddenly, he was kneeling back in Hyrule Field, underneath the large tree that sheltered him from the storm. He looked, raising his head to glance over the crest of the hill. There, in the distance, loomed Hyrule Castle, its spires wrapped in black power.

_Know that I am there, and that I watch over you always._

No matter where he went in Hyrule, the castle was always there, looming on the horizon. The travelers he’d met spoke of it in hushed whispers, turning their back towards it. And for good reason: the Calamity that had single-handedly brought Hyrule to its knees was imprisoned there. But his princess was there. Trapped in a struggle with Ganon, fighting every day, just like he was. Yet she watched over him.

Somehow, Hyrule Castle no longer seemed so ominous. And he knew he was not alone.

 

* * *

 

 _The ruins are pitch black,_ the traveler had said. _Best not to wander in them. But I’ve heard that there’s a power there for those who are strong enough to claim it._

Power meant a shrine, most likely, and the more shrines he captured, the more powerful he would be to aid his princess. But the traveler’s words had not prepared him for the total darkness that he was in now. The feeble light of his torch only illuminated a foot around him, and the fog was so thick he felt that he was choking on it. His chest tightened as he gripped his sword, feet brushing against the undergrowth.

In most clearings, you could hear the birds in the trees, the chirping of crickets, sounds of life. There was no sound here in this grove, except for his own breath.

Wait.

He took another step forward. straining his ears, holding his breath. And there it was: a quiet snoring noise. _Hinox._ His hand shook as he made his way forward. Hinoxi were bad enough in the light, but in the dark like this? Alone? The creature would most likely have an advantage over him, smashing him into the ground before he could even hit the thing. No one would come for him, and if Mipha’s Grace was used up—

_When you find yourself alone, amid a lightless place…_

Warmth wrapped around his heart, and he reflexively turned to look at the spires of Hyrule Castle before he remembered that he was in the dark. But he didn’t need to look, not really. He knew her words, etched into his heart. _Look to the distance. Know that I am there…_

_And that I watch over you always._

Slowly, his chest eased, his breathing less shallow. He was not alone. He’d taken on worse, surely. This was not his first battle, nor would it be his last. He would have to battle far worse to reunite with his princess, freeing her from the seal that kept her and the Calamity bound.

His grip tightened around his blade as he marched through the undergrowth. If she truly watched over him, then he would not be afraid.

 

* * *

 

“The site is not far,” Impa rasped, her shrewd eyes solemn as she looked up at Link. “It’s close to Fort Hateno, half a day’s ride from here.”

“Thank you,” Link said, lowering the Sheikah Slate. He’d taken a picture of the painting for reference.

“I warn you, hero,” she said quietly. “When you witness what happened there, you will understand why your mind let that memory go.”

The words were ominous, but he knew that already. The second he had seen the painting of Zelda’s remaining memory, he’d felt his chest tighten, his gut twisting just as it had before witnessing the memories of Ganon’s return and his and Zelda’s flight through the woods. But he had to see what had happened there: his memory wouldn’t be whole without it, and he would pay any price to remember.

He rode from Kakariko straight to Blatchery Plain, and with every canter Epona took towards his goal, his chest ached, his heart burning. Once they passed Fort Hateno, he slowed her down, hands tight around the reins as she trotted through the field. Chills ran down his spine as he saw the shells of decayed Guardians looming around them, more than he’d ever seen in one place. Epona knickered beneath him, and he rubbed at her neck to soothe her, and perhaps himself.

When his vision began to blur and the burning in his chest grew painful, he knew he was close. Carefully, he dismounted and walked through the marshy fields, glancing around him. It was a sunny day, but the closer he got to the spot, the darker the world around him became.

Then it hit him.

_“Link, save yourself! Go!”_

He gasped, falling to his knees as the images surged through his mind: the Guardian’s swarming them, Zelda’s voice screaming as she stood in front of him, her hand glowing like a beacon as she finally awakened her powers…

_“I knew… y-you c-could… do it.”_

The memory ended, and his vision swam as his eyes filled with tears. Fingers grasped at the grass beneath him, trying to root himself in reality.

_I failed her._

He knew that he’d died, before he’d woken in the Shrine of Resurrection. He knew that Hyrule had fallen, ruined in the Calamity’s wake. But the sight of Zelda leaning over him, weeping as she tried to tell him he would live, was too much.

And then she had done what he could not: she had restrained Ganon. She’d taken the Master Sword back to the Lost Woods, then went straight to Hyrule Castle and sealed the beast away, all without any regard for her own life. While he had slept, she had fought every single day, all because he had failed to keep himself alive. All because he wasn’t strong enough.

“All ever I wanted,” he whispered, weeping bitterly, “was to save you.”

_You will._

He froze.

_It is time. You are ready._

Her voice was soft on the wind, but it pierced him to the core. Swallowing thickly, he wiped his tears, rising from the ground. Turning to the west, he saw the familiar spires of Hyrule Castle. At first, when he’d seen the castle, he’d been afraid of it.

Now, it was a comfort to him to see that sight. Zelda was there. She watched over him, as she’d told him in the dream that he’d dreamt while he lay in the Shrine of Resurrection. Shakily, he inhaled, then whistled for Epona. The world had fallen down around him. He had lost all hope once. He’d been in the lightless places of Hyrule. But he had never been alone. She had watched over him.

It was his turn now.

 _Look to the distance, Zelda,_ he thought, urging Epona in a gallop towards Hyrule Castle. _I’m there, and I’m coming for you._ The wind blew through his hair, the Master Sword light on his back as Epona raced through the wilds.

_You and I will be together again. I promise._

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I've been writing Zelda fanfiction for ten years and this is the first one I'm ever posting! 
> 
> While playing Breath of the Wild, I realized that Link is completely alone in his journey, and the game developers have even said that this is on purpose: some elements of the game are meant to make you feel isolated. How would he deal with this? I'd imagine at first he'd be fine with it, but as he regained more memories, he'd become acutely aware of just how alone he is. 
> 
> Good thing that he's not alone. I also found it significant that pretty much everywhere you go in Hyrule, you can see Hyrule Castle in the distance. I suppose it's supposed to remind the player that Ganon is still out there, but would Link see it differently? A reminder that his princess is waiting for him?
> 
> But really, I just wanted to rewrite a certain cutscene from Final Fantasy XV (if you've played it, you know the one) with Link and Zelda, because I thought it fit them, and I am shameless. But I sincerely hope you enjoy this, and let me know your feelings about it.


End file.
